Tennis Courts - cost of a personal court

Why didn't you just cut the grass to save on the cost of the concrete and have yourself a fancy grass court instead?

Why don't people build more private grass courts? Anyone know the economics and logistics of that?

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Back in the 'old days', when my mother was growing up in Queensland, despite a serious lack of funds, it seemed as though every other property had a tennis court. All it required was a bit of ingenuity, some hard work and a willingness to take functionality over aesthetics. I see no reason why you couldn't do the same today.

The process they followed was simple. They selected a suitable bit of land, mowed it and then rolled it. As they didn't have a proper roller (some people were able to borrow one from the local cricket club) they apparently used a large petrol drum filled with water. So, as they rolled the court they were also watering it. Fences were made out of chicken wire (still available and very cheap). Nets were made out of whatever they could find and, in one case, an old fence that had been cut down to size was used. I guess they used lime to mark the court.

Mainly they used dirt courts (it being very hot year round in Queensland) but the process was similar. Find a suitable spot, strip it, roll it, mark it and play.

Yes, the bounces wouldn't have been perfect but who cares? I'm sure most of us have, at one time or another, played on courts where the surface hadn't been laid properly, that were cracked or maybe even on a bit of an angle BUT we put up with it because we were just happy to be playing tennis.

Slice, I am in the process of putting in a court south of Cancun. I was all set to go clay even though the maintenance, language barrier and periods of non-use is a problem. I talked to a pro today who has one Clay Tech court in Georgia and is taking out two courts that he was originally going to go to Hydracourt but instead is using Clay Tech. He says he waters them 4 minutes at night, adds magnesium which really seems to keep them moist. He gave a lesson to a guy from Florida who didn't realize until after the hit that the court was not real clay. That's actually hard to believe. I'm going down to play it May 23.

there are other brands coming to America also. One is NovaCourt and I forget the other one that is from Australia. These courts have been out about 10 years and are catching on. I have not priced it yet but will have in 3 weeks. In a perfect world I would just put down clay. Most people say this new court is a little faster and bounces lower. This pro did not agree with that. He couldn't have been more pleased and talked of groups that prefer it over real clay. The other advantage is the 2 months of winter they have to shut down for freezing. There don't shut down for that. I also talked to a pro at Boulders north of Phoenix. He had good things also to say.

As to court cost, my court in Mexico will cost right at $45,000. That does not include fencing as I am doing something other than fencing included in my home price. Obviously labor is cheaper down there but cost of materials are more expensive. it is somewhat of a trade-off.

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What about europe ? does anyone know any companies that could install it in europe ? Can someone give us sites that carry classic clay other than classicclay.com ? Im really interested in it but I don't think there are companies here in europe than carry it...

Thanks for that! Interesting proposition: so you would plant trees all around the court and then put the curtain net in front? You might get a lot of debris blown onto the court, depending on the plant.

What about europe ? does anyone know any companies that could install it in europe ? Can someone give us sites that carry classic clay other than classicclay.com ? Im really interested in it but I don't think there are companies here in europe than carry it...

i live in the new england area (around boston). just for kicks, i contacted a guy i think located in Ohio/South Carolina or one of those states and did an inquiry. this was about 1.5 years ago.
i think i asked him what it would cost to built a tennis court
assumed the land is flat, no trees, or big rocks to move. use the same material as they they at MIT (mass. institute of technology) courts.
i asked him to use average lighting, with two benches, fence around, wind breaker things on the fences. i think it was about $45,000 or so.
$45,000 for 1 court. no ball girl, no water fountain, no bathroom....is it worth it? i think so, but i can't afford it.

I posted a few weeks ago as I'm comparing a clay court to the new artificial clay courts. Today I played the Clay Tech court. It far exceeded my expectations and I can see how someone could play on it and not really notice that it was a different surface if it had a lot of top dressing. This surface was definitely much softer than a hard court, very similar to clay. No algae problems like you have with clay, just water about 5 minutes a day and you should be good to go. The owners did say they put magnesium on the court which helps it stay more moist.

In summary this is a very viable surface that I am looking strongly at. If you need low maintenance, ability to play through freezing, soft court to help your knees and joints, this may be the surface for you. I did find one negative. It is more costly than a regular clay court. I'd rather not discuss price as I know there are company representatives on here and this is a testimonial about performance. My problem is maintenance, not being at the sight constantly. With that in mind, I almost certainly will go with this court over regular clay. Now I will be comparing the different manufacturers as I believe pricing is quite different. I emailed Classic Clay from their website but they never replied. That would leave NovaCourt and Clay Tech. Clay Tech is really good.

Classic Clay, NovaCourt or Clay Tech. Are they eco-friendly and non-toxic? The reason I ask is my proposed site is above our well/water table ..... and wouldn't want any long term problems from excess chemicals/minerals.

http://www.novagrass.com/pro-clay_crt.htm
Here is something on the Novagrass site. I am using something in Mexico which I have not seen. It may be a little different than this. I am still considering the Clay Tech also.

As to whether these courts create any environmental issues I would say no. The ClayTech material is really an industrial strength rug with many grooves where Har-Tru fills in. So, the question is are there any issues with Har-Tru. If not, then you are fine. ClayTech takes about 1/10th of the Har-Tru a regular court would require. This is laid over asphalt or concrete like a hardcourt.

Why didn't you just cut the grass to save on the cost of the concrete and have yourself a fancy grass court instead?

Why don't people build more private grass courts? Anyone know the economics and logistics of that?

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http://www.alliowalawntennisclub.com/index.html Mark can give you a full rundown of the logistics. In the ******* here, it's not really a viable option unless you have time for daily maintenance. Took the trek down there from St. Paul last year and got the full story on how he did it, I couldn't even fathom a guess on time and cost but maintenance is huge in both expense and time.

If it is the same as a golf green mower the cheapest John Deere one I saw was over $7000

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You should be able to find cheaper lawn mowers that will suffice for grass tennis courts. If I had a decent size backyard, i would definitely build a grass tennis court myself, instead of the 20-40K it costs for a clay / hardcourt. Grass courts need lots of time and effort, but so worth it, and it would be so nice and easy on my aging body.

You should be able to find cheaper lawn mowers that will suffice for grass tennis courts. If I had a decent size backyard, i would definitely build a grass tennis court myself, instead of the 20-40K it costs for a clay / hardcourt. Grass courts need lots of time and effort, but so worth it, and it would be so nice and easy on my aging body.

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I think that a green mower would be a little overkill for a tennis court too but I wasn't sure.

Back in the 'old days', when my mother was growing up in Queensland, despite a serious lack of funds, it seemed as though every other property had a tennis court. All it required was a bit of ingenuity, some hard work and a willingness to take functionality over aesthetics. I see no reason why you couldn't do the same today.

Mainly they used dirt courts (it being very hot year round in Queensland) but the process was similar. Find a suitable spot, strip it, roll it, mark it and play.

Yes, the bounces wouldn't have been perfect but who cares? I'm sure most of us have, at one time or another, played on courts where the surface hadn't been laid properly, that were cracked or maybe even on a bit of an angle BUT we put up with it because we were just happy to be playing tennis.

As he plays mainly on en tous cart (Australian dirt courts), he has a very good base of comparison.

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The cost to have a clay court installed professionally is discussed throughout. Too pricey for me. However, Andrew D. and a few others discussed the option to install it yourself, if you have the time, will and can afford the basics. From my understanding, a lot of the cost is labour. I intend to supply as much of the labour as physically possible.

I'm located in Eastern Ontario, Canada, near the Great Lakes. Moisture isn't an issue here. Further, the house purchased has two drilled wells. One of which is not being used and can supply 4L/minute. It could be used to water a clay court.

Last Friday, we had our backyard graded. I asked to have a 60' x 120' court base graded to zero degrees facing N-S graded in the process; with the premise that a tennis court might be installed. No compaction was done and there is no drainage tile/piping installed. The land is elevated about ~ 1 m above the water table, so I am hoping drainage will not be an issue. Cedars surround the court, so wind will not be an issue.

There's an excellent article published by Kenneth Welton, Building Clay Tennis Courts. It was written back in 1929. Yes, it is a little outdated, but the engineering principles could not have changed that much. Is there anyone out there that could provide professional advice on the next steps after the base has been laid? :???:

It's not so much the actual cost of the court. Depending on where you live the maintenance of the court can get you. If you live in the Northern part of the USA the weather takes its toll. I see courts all the time broken, cracked and uneven. Think long about your decision.

Yes, I agree with you to think long and hard about the decision. I also agree with you that the weather does takes it toll on the courts in the north. However, poor construction seems to the reason for this. Local asphalt companies are asking 15K for the asphalt - nothing else. And most of the asphalt courts in the area are cracked and wavy, even the club I'm playing in. And they paid 25K three years ago to have it re-surfaced by a "professional" consultant.

Anyhow, I will consult with another club in Belleville that has four clay courts in regards to 1929 document quoted. I'll post the outcome in the next few weeks.

Har-Tru courts generally cost less then hard courts. In fact if you are doing it yourself then har-tru is the least expensive. Tennis Magazine had an article several years back on one of there writers who built there own court and the price breakdown and how to, etc.

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Hello, I was looking over the monthly issues of Tennis Magazine from the present to 2004 and did not see the article you were referring to. Any idea what month the article was published in?

I would think leveling the ground and then putting down astroturf would be a cost effective means of building a court. Just be careful how cheap you go on the astroturf, because some of that stuff is worse than falling on concrete. Not nice to bare skin.

First, how big is your backyard that you can fit a tennis court? My god. Secondly, I thought texas was pretty good about having good court access like here in California. Here in california, we have a tennis court on almost every block all across san diego. I hear texas is also a huge tennis state that's very accomodating.

After seeing this thread, I am just curious... How much does the average racquet club member (entire family) spend on court fees/membership/transportation over a lifetime? (playing 3-4 hours a week, for 25-35 years? Anyone have numbers from your own personal experience? Is the cost of building your own court an investment that could actually save you money in the long run?

so your own court (build + maintain) vs. a lifetime of club fees/court time/transportation? Which is higher?